Short Stories of Broken Pathes
by Branchwing
Summary: One-shots of stories from the universe of the Broken Path series.
1. Specklestar's Death

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors. Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter.**

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The flecked gray tom stood in the clearing, nervous as the water touched his paws. Earlier today, it had started raining heavily. The lake flooded, and water was approaching the camp, and fast. Specklestar, the leader of WindClan, was appreciated by the warriors of his Clan for being a fair and just leader. His age was catching up to him. Being on his last life, he was genuinely scared to die. But he had seen so much. Even if his death came today, he would be satisfied, and he would make home in the stars.

"Everyone!" he heard his deputy, Spidereyes, yowl. "Get to higher ground!"

 _He would make a great leader someday,_ he thought.

"What about-" a queen started, clearly panicking.

"There's no time!" Spidereyes meowed. "Get your kits up here, and fast!"

Specklestar turned around to look at Spidereyes and the queens. The black tom's amber eyes, filled with worry, were focused on the queens. The first cat to come out of the nursery was Seedpetal. The gray she-cat was due to start kitting any day now, he just knew it from her swollen belly.

"I'll help her," her mate, Cloudface, meowed. "Thank you, Spidereyes." The gray and white tom dipped his head.

"You're welcome," the cat meowed softly.

The next cat to come out was a tawny she-cat with fur sticking out in all directions, Pricklethorn, and her two kits, Applekit and Mossykit. The two kits looked terrified, and they stuck close their mother. The kits were almost apprentice age, too.

"Follow me," Pricklethorn meowed. The two terrified kits immediately nodded their heads, and the three cats went up the hill.

"Specklestar!" a pale gray she-cat meowed. The tom turned around to the sound. It was the medicine cat, Raindapple, who had a worried look on her face. "What about my herbs?!"

"Take as much as you can," he instructed. He looked down at the ground. "The most valuable ones, first. We still have a little time before it becomes too risky to come back down."

"Got it." The she-cat grabbed a bundle of dandelions and a few other plants Specklestar didn't know about, and raced up to higher ground.

It started rain even harder. The water was rising quickly. Thunder sounded somewhere off in the distance. The wind hit Specklestar's pelt, enough to blow him off his paws.

"Specklestar!" he heard his son call. "Are you alright?!"

He got up, and looked around to see where the mottled gray tom was. A wave crashed down on him as it rained even harder, and he fell to the ground. His ears twitched as terrified mews pierced the air.

"My kits!" the queen yowled. "Someone save my kits!"

As Specklestar poked his head above the surface of the water, he spotted two gray tabby kits, flailing their legs wildly in the air in the corner of his eye.

"Stormkit! Nettlekit" she yowled.

The water was steadily getting higher and higher. He struggled to stay above the water. In the midst of it, he heard many, many cats call his name. He flailed about in the water. He couldn't swim; he, like most WindClan cats, didn't even like the water!

Soon enough, he could no longer feel the ground beneath his paws. He steadily grew exhausted. He frantically tried to stay above water until he could no more.

 _StarClan is calling you,_ a voice in his head whispered. _Do not fear your fate, Specklestar._

He let himself fall under the water, never to come back up. In his blurry vision, he could see the outlines of the cats he cared about the most in his entire life.

He closed his eyes.

He let himself sink deeper and deeper into the lake, joining the cats who lost their lives with him.

He got up from his dead body, and everything was at ease. He felt young again, and the scent of prey awaited him.

And then he walked towards the stars.

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 **A/N: So, these are just some quick short stories from the universe of Broken Path. I'll start it off with a not-so-spoilery story. If you've read the prologue of the first book, you'd know Specklestar is dead... and he was a WindClan leader. Progress further, you'll get a mention about his death. Here's a little short story about his death from his perspective. Branchwing, out!**

 **Next: Spiderstar's nine lives**


	2. Spiderstar's Nine Lives

Upon arrival at the Moonpool, two cats sat down, one a pale gray, the other black as the night sky, with white paws. The black tom sat down, seeing his amber eyes stare back at him from his reflection in the pond. The pale gray cat with him, WindClan's medicine cat, sat next to him.

"Are you ready?" the pale gray she-cat asked, her blue eyes focused on the soon-to-be leader of WindClan, Spidereyes.

The black tom, known as Spidereyes, nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Yes." After the flood had cleared up, the two cats quickly left the camp the day after Spidereyes announced that their previous leader, Specklestar, had drowned. His body washed up on the lake shore not long ago, and as soon as he was found, a patrol consisting of Swiftbreeze, Cloudface, and Heatherwing informed him of that.

Unfortunately, among the bodies that washed up, two kits that Thrushstrike, their mother's brother, tried to save were two of the victims. He could still hear the tabby queen's wails of grief in his mind, and he was afraid it wouldn't end for quite a while. Much to her dismay, Thrushstrike was also among the bodies, leaving his kin grief-stricken.

"Spidereyes," the she-cat, known as Raindapple, meowed. "It's time."

"Oh, right," he mumbled.

"Touch your nose to the water," she instructed.

Nodding, Spidereyes did as Raindapple instructed. As soon as his nose touched, the water, he drifted off to sleep.

Blinking, he noticed that he was in what seemed to be a hollow, the spirits of cats all around them. He searched their ranks to find someone he knew, and he recognized quite a few of them. He wanted to move around, trying to explore, but it felt like he was stuck in place.

"Welcome to StarClan, Spidereyes," a familiar voice meowed. Looking up, he could see the shape of Specklestar among him, his pelt dotted with stars, as were the rest of the StarClan cats. Nodding, a sandy brown she-cat approached him, almost the size of a warrior, but not quite. Something about her seemed familiar…

 _Sandpaw?_ he wondered. Sandpaw was an older apprentice at the time of his apprentice ceremony. A moon into his apprenticeship, she was killed by a dog guarding the horseplace, something only he had witnessed.

"Hello, Spidereyes. It's been a long time since we've last met," she started. Yep, it was Sandpaw that was giving him his first life. The she-cat approached him, and tried her best to touch her nose to his forehead, and once she succeeded, she began to speak once more.

"With this life I give you judgement. Use it to make the right choices, for the good of your Clan," she finished. A surge of pain, more painful than any other he has witnessed before, went through him as he struggled to stay on his paws.

 _Great StarClan, is this_ supposed _to be this painful?!_

As the pain faded, he got back on his paws, repositioning himself. Sandpaw padded out of the clearing. Replacing her was a broad-faced silver tabby tom with piercing yellow eyes. This specific cat was instantly recognizable. He was Stormstrike, the long-time deputy of Specklestar before he died from a ThunderClan cat's bite to the neck a few moons ago.

Touching his nose to Spidereyes's head, he meowed, "With this life I give you hope. Even when all seems lost, everything will get better soon." The silver tabby smiled. "I promise. Use it to guide your Clan during these tough times."

Unlike the last life, a pleasant feeling aroused within Spidereyes, although not as strong as the pain he had endured with his last life. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all… Stormstrike quietly padded out of sight, presumably sitting down somewhere.

The next cat that approached him was one he had never seen before, although she seemed a little faded compared to the other cats. The she-cat seemed to walk without making a sound, and to him, she seemed to radiate a leader-like aura. To be in another leader's presence seemed strange to him, yet, he felt honored to be in her presence.

"I am Heatherstar," she introduced herself. "I used to be the leader of WindClan long ago. With this life I give you pride. Know what you and your own Clan has achieved; you will need it."

Touching her nose to the black tom's head, Spidereyes felt yet another surge of pain go through him, more painful than the last, but at the same time, it felt like a different kind of pain. He fell to the ground, struggling to get back up again. As the pain subsided, Heatherstar left the clearing silently, as if she was no longer needed here.

The next cat to approach him was a golden tabby that he knew all too well. Springbreeze, a former medicine cat who died unexpectedly moons ago, and one that he often saw from being too careless and getting hurt. The golden she-cat elegantly made her way to him, and touched her nose to his head.

"With this life I give you selflessness. Use it to put your Clan's needs above all others," she simply meowed. The pain returned once again, although not as intense as the last times he felt pain. This time, he was able to stay on his paws pretty well, also at some points, he felt like giving in to the pain. When it faded, he positioned himself, and then, Springbreeze walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Another cat weaved their way out of the crowd. A familiar scent of milk and warmth washed over him as she walked over to him. Before he knew it, he was looking at his mother. He felt like he was a kit again, playing with his littermates as she watched them.

"Blackpetal," he muttered, his voice faltering. "I-I've missed you."

"It's been so long, my son," the black-and-white she-cat whispered. "I am so proud of you and what you have become." She touched her nose to his head. "With this life I give you a mother's love, as if each cat in your Clan was your very own kit, like you have loved your own kits. Take care of them, please."

This life felt especially pleasant, feeling as if love was surging throughout his entire body. Once it was done, she turned around, leaving to rejoin the crowd. He wanted to tell her to not leave, but alas, no sound came out of his mouth.

She turned around to look at him, her amber eyes filled with love. "I promise we will see each other again." And then, she was gone.

He looked down at the front of the crowd. Sitting there were the two kits that drowned in the storm, Stormkit, who was named after Stormstrike, and Nettlekit. He felt a pang of grief go through him. He sat vigil for them with their kin, all of them grieving for those they lost. Would one of them give him a life?

Suddenly, a dark gray kit, Nettlekit, stood up, and walked up to him. Would that be the one giving him a life right now? Nettlekit stopped in front him, trying to reach his head.

"I'm sorry no one didn't save you, Nettlekit," Spidereyes meowed solemnly, lowering his head.

"It's okay, but I miss you, and mama," he mewed, dipping his head. "My life is for adventure. Never be afraid to explore unfamiliar places." Nettlekit reached up to touch his nose to the black tom's head, and another surge of pain went through. Spidereyes wasn't sure if he could take any more of the pain, but, if he has to, he'll deal with it.

As soon as it faded, the tabby kit backed up, and looked up at him with his large, green eyes.

"Oh, Nettlekit… You know how much I miss you," the tom muttered.

"Don't worry, Spidereyes. Blackpetal is taking care of me, but she'll never replace my parents," he reassured. "Bye. I can't wait to see you again!"

Dipping his head, the kit turned around and rejoined his brother, leaving a path of stars. They both disappeared into the crowd. That would be the last Spidereyes would see them tonight. Taking their place was a gray tom with a distinctive darker gray tail. Smokerunner, Spidereyes's mentor.

The elder looked much younger than when he last saw him, a motionless body being carried by the other elders, off to be buried. The wiry tom dipped his head at the sight of seeing him.

Touching his nose to Spidereyes's forehead, he said, "With this life I give you patience. Use it well."

The pain returned, bringing the tom down once again. As he got up, he came crashing back down. After it was over, he got back on his paws, noticing that Smokerunner had already gone back to join the crowd.

Jumping down from a rock was Specklestar, yellow eyes full of pride. He landed in front of Spidereyes, taking him off guard. The black tom dipped his head in respect for the leader.

"Spidereyes, you have come so far since I first saw you as a young kit. I knew that one day, you would be a great leader, and I am happy to see WindClan in your paws. I was proud to be leader of such a great Clan, and I hope you will be, too." The speckled gray tom touched his nose to the black tom's head. "With this life I give you the power to choose wisely. You will need it when the time comes."

Another surge of pain went through him, although not as painful as the last few times. As the pain left his body, he dipped his head in respect for the former leader.

"Thank you," he meowed. "I promise to lead my Clan well."

As the leader took back his place, Spiderstar awaited to see who the cat to give him his final life would be. Approaching him in the former leader's place was a gray tabby tom, and the very cat that attempted to save Stormkit and Nettlekit. Thrushstrike now had stars in his pelt, no longer drenched by the lake water.

"Hello, Spidereyes. I'm sorry I couldn't save the kits," he meowed quietly. "But, you did a fantastic job leading everyone to safety when Specklestar couldn't. For that, I'm happy to see you become leader of WindClan. For this life, I give you forgiveness. You should not hold grudges, as they will only bring you down."

Touching his nose to the black tom's head, one final surge of pain went throughout Spidereyes's body. He struggled to stay on his feet, and once he couldn't take any more of the pain, he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

 _Please tell me it's over, StarClan…_ he begged silently.

At last, the pain subsided. Nothing seemed to move. And then, a cat cleared his throat. Looking up at the tree before him, Specklestar was perched on a tree branch, his starry gaze directed at Spidereyes.

"I hail you by your new name, Spiderstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of WindClan _._ Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity," the gray tom announced.

Thrushstrike dipped his head, and smiled. "Congratulations, Spiderstar!"

Specklestar nodded. "Yes, congratulations, indeed. I know you will put WindClan in good hands, Spiderstar. Lead them well."

Spiderstar, confident with his new name, dipped his head. "I swear that I will keep WindClan in good paws. I will not let you down, Specklestar."

 **A/N: Not much I have to say here... But I hope you enjoyed this story of Spiderstar's nine lives!**

 **Next: Sorrelstar's nine lives**


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